Robot 6

Previews: What Looks Good for April

It’s time once again for our monthly trip through Previews looking for cool, new comics. We’ve each picked the five comics we’re most anticipating in order to create a list of the best new stuff coming out two months from now.

As usual, please feel free to play along in the comments. Tell us what we missed that you’re looking forward to or – if you’re a comics creator – mention your own stuff.

Crater XV

Graeme McMillan

Crater XV HC (Top Shelf, $19.95): I’ve been following (and loving) the serialization of Kevin Cannon’s follow-up to Far Arden in the digital pages of Double Barrel, but I know that I’ll be picking up this hardcover collection of the further adventures of sea dog Rusty Shanks nonetheless. The Canadian space program deserves no less.

In The Days of the Mob HC (DC Comics, $39.99): To say that Kirby’s 1970s take on the organized-crime world of the 1930s is something I’ve been longing to read since I first discovered its existence would be an understatement, so I’m definitely looking forward to this deluxe reprint, complete with material that wasn’t in the original edition.

Indigo Prime: Anthropocalypse TP (Rebellion/2000AD, $24.99): John Smith’s cosmic authorities are one of comics’ most secret treasures, I think, especially when he’s paired with an artist like Edmund Bagwell, who brings a wonderful Euro-Kirby influence to the stories in this collection. Really looking forward to this one.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen GN (First Second, $17.99): As a sucker for good autobiographical comics and also good food writing, the idea of Lucy Knisley creating a food-centric memoir — complete with recipes! — is far too good to ignore. I love that publishers like First Second are publishing work like this.

Solo Deluxe Edition HC (DC Comics, $49.99): Even though I own most of these issues from their original appearance, the oversized hardcover format is waaaay too tempting when you consider some of the material this book has up its 500+ page sleeve: Paul Pope covering Kirby! Brendan McCarthy channeling Ditko as only he could! The amazing Darwyn Cooke issue! The only thing that could make this better would be if it included work completed on follow-up issues before the plug had been pulled … But maybe that can appear in a second volume, one day…

Godzilla: The Half Century War

Chris Arrant

Godzilla: The Half Century War by James Stokoe (IDW, $19.99). Yes, I bought this in singles. But this is the kind of book I want to have on my shelf and not just furrowed away in a bin somewhere. Extras or a large edition would be nice, but I’ll buy this now and probably buy it again should they do an expanded edition. Guess a lucky friend is going to get a surprise of the single issues pretty soon.

Jupiter’s Legacy #1 by Mark Millar & Frank Quitely (Image, $2.99) A Mark Millar book is one thing. So is a Frank Quitely book. But seeing them … together, and … and creator-owned? That’s a whole ‘nother thing. Despite potential delays given who’s involved, I’d pay for the whole series upfront right now. Take my money, give me this comic.

Über #0 by Kieron Gillen & Canaan White (Avatar, $2.99): Kieron Gillen’s long-awaited return to creator-owned work is coming true, this time trading up Brit pop for – Nazi superheroes? Coming from Avatar this has the promise of a hard R rating, with Gillen and newcomer Canan White following a last-ditch chance by the Nazis to win World War 2 with superhumans. For a while, Avatar had a great strength of creator-owned work (mostly off the back of Warren Ellis), and I’m glad to see a potential resurgence of this starting here.

Who Is AC? by Hope Larson & Tintin Pantoja (Atheneum, $14.99): Remember that great teen Wonder Woman fan comic from years ago? What if its creator partnered with Hope Larson on a superhero book? Well, she did – and here it is. Described by Larson as a Sailor Moon-esue superheroine tale, this looks like a load of fun.

Relish by Lucy Knisley (First Second, $17.99): I happened upon Lucy Knisley’s work in a chance meeting with her 2008 travelogue French Milk. Since then I’ve gained a high appreciation of food writing, and delightfully so has she. I was unaware of her gourmand parentage, but that makes this recipe (ouch, bad pun) of a comic even better. I look forward to reading – and cooking up these recipes – come April 2013.

Sandcastle

Michael May

Sandcastle (SelfMadeHero, $19.95): David Twohy’s A Perfect Getaway is one of my favorite movies for the way it builds suspense in a beautiful, island setting. I’m hoping that Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters can do something similar in their story of a group of strangers trying to solve a murder at the beach in a hidden cove. If nothing else, Peeters art looks wonderful, which maybe isn’t a surprise since he just won the Prix de la Série at Angoulême.

Neozoic: Trader’s Gambit #1 (Red 5 Comics, $3.50): When Red 5 debuted, they had two series that I expected to do extremely well. One was Atomic Robo; the other was Neozoic. I don’t know why it’s taken so long for the next Neozoic mini-series to come out, but I’m just thrilled the wait is over. I see a fair number of comics about humans and dinosaurs co-existing and fighting each other, but none as gorgeous or well-developed as Paul Ens and J. Korim’s series.

Heck (Top Shelf, $19.95): I’m glad Graeme picked Crater XV for one of his, because I was having a difficult time picking between it and the other Double Barrel collection this month, Zander Cannon’s Heck. Now we can mention them both. Heck is about a guy who finds a portal to the underworld and — with his bandage-wrapped friend — uses it to resolve inheritance disputes. That is until an ex-girlfriend shows up wanting to get an envelope to her dead husband.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Works, Volume 1 (IDW, $49.99): Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman’s original TMNT series gets a color, hardcover collection. I knew it would pay off if I waited long enough before buying these stories. This volume includes issues 1-7 as well as the Rafael Micro-Series issue.

X-Men #1 (Marvel, $3.99): There’s something going on at Marvel lately and I love it. Not Marvel NOW; I’m talking about a renewed interest in publishing series about female superheroes from Captain Marvel and Red She-Hulk to Fearless Defenders and now Brian Wood and Olivier Coipel’s X-Men. And they didn’t even have to give it a goofy X-Women title. Good on ya, Marvel. More!

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Comments

4 Comments

Martin Costello

Michael May, I read Sandcastles when it came out in the U.K. & Ireland in 2011. If I am right in guessing what expectations are for this tilte, I think you will find it is very different to that film you are referencing.